The Handa Family Group last week officially handed over the country’s first-ever dedicated Old People’s Home to the Ministry of Local Government.
The home, situated in Broadhurst, is to come under the Department of Social Services’ care in the community remit, overseen and assisted by a private Board of Trustees.
Speaking at the handover, Mr. Ish Handa acknowledged that the home was only a small beginning to address the issue of old age care and urged other corporate bodies and individuals to follow suit.
“Though you cannot help all,” he said, “you can help some and you should not let what you can’t do prevent you from doing what you can.”
Also addressing assembled guests, Mr. Satar Dada chided a generation which he said had lost respect for the elderly and had forgotten their contribution to the growth of the country and their role as parents, mentors and teachers to their own children.
The old age home was a commendable effort, he said, but in a truly caring society such homes should not be necessary and he urged all families to embrace their older members and look after them within the family unit.
Accepting the home on behalf of his ministry, Assistant Minister for Local Government, Maxwell Notwane, thanked the Handa Group, quoting the Bible, which states that ‘blessed be the hand that gives’. The thanks, he said, were not only for the home but for laying the foundation for more such facilities which should form part of the pillars of the Vision 2016 creation of a just and caring society.
He noted that sadly, the traditional family was beginning to break up, leaving the elderly alone and vulnerable. Government, he said, was doing what it could with a monthly pension and the food basket programme but it could not do it alone.
Support is needed from the corporate community and it was hoped that this home would inspire other bodies to follow suit.
The home, he said, gave the elderly the opportunity to spend their old age in dignity and comfort and was a tangible celebration of their contribution to society.
The home can accommodate 14 old people and will be staffed by members of the Retires Nurses Association. It offers daycare leisure facilities as well as emergency sleeping facilities and basic geriatric healthcare.
